Q:
What should one do when he reaches a rut in his learning? He can’t wake up on time and he can’t sit with a sefer without falling asleep.
A:
He should talk to somebody who’s experienced with yeshiva men. Sometimes it’s due to wrong preparation; it means he has endured a career of failure. He never experienced the sweetness of success in learning. And that’s sometimes because he started learning late. He didn’t know the translation of the words properly and so he was frustrated and he got an attitude that it doesn’t pay to try anymore.
There isn’t a single person who cannot succeed in becoming a lamdan if you do it in the right way. And you can do it without a rebbi. It’s remarkable but it’s true. Only I won’t take up the time now to explain that system. It’s possible for a person to get back again into learning.
Now of course sometimes it’s a temporary cause; he doesn’t go to sleep early enough and he’s knocked out. For a certain temporary period, he’s off keel. But if it’s a permanent phenomenon it could be due to this cause and it’s possible for a person to get a new start in life and to succeed in learning if he’ll consult somebody who is experienced in this field.
TAPE # 561 (August 1985)
